Fewer flights arrived on time in March, government says

Fewer flights arrived on time in March, according to a government report released Tuesday.

U.S. airlines reported an on-time rate of 79.9 percent in March, down from 81.5 percent in the same month last year. Delta Air Lines had the best rate with 86.9 percent of its flights arriving on time during the spring break travel month, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said in its monthly report.

Fort Worth-based American Airlines ranked fourth with 80.2 percent of its flights arriving on time while Dallas-based Southwest Airlines ranked sixth at 79.6 percent. Virgin America, which was purchased by Alaska Airlines last year, had the worst on-time rate with only 65.5 percent of its flights arriving on time in March.

There were no tarmac delays exceeding three hours in March, the agency reported.

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Airlines lost fewer bags and had fewer complaints about their service in March. The mishandled baggage rate dropped to 2.24 reports per 1,000 passengers , down from 2.49 in March 2016. The U.S. Department of Transportation received 1,132 complaints, 20.7 percent fewer than the same period last year.